It’s Erev Hanukkah and all the good little Jewish children are … being absolutely normal. Because Hanukkah as a gift holiday is a modern construct.
I sent presents to my little brother (he’s in his 30s) and donate to charity.
Oh and I’ll light things on fire and fry some latkes. But that’s because I love latkes and only justify them once a year.
Hannukah is one of our “they tried to kill us, we won!” holidays (99.9% of Jewish holidays are that).
This one ends with “let’s fry food and light things on fire!” instead of the normal “let’s eat!”
Latkes are potato pancakes. Sometimes I’ll make sufgayniot which are deep fried, jelly filled donuts.
Oh and I bought my brother books by Michael Twitty and he gets some gelt (money) soon. But that’s about it.
I usually will make Jewcraft jokes when we light things on fire.
I’ll share photos tomorrow since we finally got my wife’s dream menorah.
My brother gets gifts because:
1. He’s the youngest
2. He was a chef and thus broke
3. He has type-1 diabetes and thus is always strapped for cash
4. Our dad died and someone should treat the kid!
I always gave him money, or tried to. The gifts … I want them to be meaningful.
Dad and I perfected the “gifts when they’re found, not when they’re expected” game between ourselves.
Knowing he died after I surprised him with a gift in 2019 still makes me happy. He knew how much I loved him.
Anyway. To wrap it up, most Jews know our modern holidays are made up. And yeah, Hanukkah is pretty modern.
But one of the nifty things is … that’s okay! It’s a learning experience! What does the plight of the Macabbes teach us? Respect and fight for freedom.
And lighting things on fire is fun.
Ipstenu (Mika E.) 🏳️🌈
Sundance